Holy Grail

Emerging in 2008 from the remnants of White Wizzard, the Pasadena, California quintet Holy Grail coalesced around ex-members James Paul Luna on vocals, Tyler Meahl behind the kit, and James J. LaRue on guitar. The group channels the dense, riff-heavy attack of vintage death metal, transporting audiences to an earlier, more straightforward era steeped in denim. Completing the roster with guitarist Eli Santana and bassist Blake Mount, they issued their first EP, Improper Burial, in 2009 and immediately hit the road alongside Amon Amarth and fellow traditionalists 3 Inches of Blood. The next year brought the departure of LaRue, who was succeeded by Ian Scott, as well as the band’s inaugural full-length, Crisis in Utopia. Scott’s stint proved brief; he exited in 2011 and was replaced by guitarist Alex Lee. True to pattern, the lineup change preceded another release, the EP Seasons Bleedings, which surfaced later that year following a trek with Toxic Holocaust. Their second album, Ride the Void, appeared in 2013 and was trailed by dates supporting Anthrax, Exodus, Municipal Waste, High on Fire, and Shadows Fall. In 2016 the band delivered its third studio effort, Times of Pride and Peril, produced by John Spiker.